


Pair of Twos

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Marvel Ficlets & Headcanons Collection [17]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Awesome Howling Commandos, Gambling, Gen, No Romance, No Sex, No Smut, One Shot, World War II, time-jump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 05:24:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14465958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: Steve and Bucky are both good at playing cards, but the Howling Commandos notice they never play together. Decades later, the Avengers notice the same thing. They all have theories as to why this is, but none of them are about to ask the pair for their reasons.





	Pair of Twos

The Howling Commandos were rarely stationed anywhere near active civilization during the war. It was simply the nature of their task. Hydra didn’t set up shop right next to an active city or military base, so tracking them down meant leaving such luxuries behind. 

For the most part, they were too busy for it to matter. When they did have the occasional moment of rest, they usually spent it talking about whatever crossed their minds, telling stories about their friends and family back home, dreaming about what they were going to do when the war was over, keeping their skills sharp, and playing card games. The latter had its limitations when each of the men playing weren’t carrying much they didn’t actually need, but they made small wagers just to keep it interesting. 

Quickly enough, the other Howlies noticed something about Bucky and Steve. Each of them only played if the other was not playing.

Dugan had befriended Bucky before their capture and heard plenty about his pal Steve. He shared with the others the fact that Steve and Bucky had pretty much shared everything for their entire adult lives.

“They probably don’t see any point in betting against each other.” Dugan theorized. “Whatever one wins, they both gain anyway. It just doubles their losses if neither wins.”

“But the two of them win far more often than not.” Jones pointed out. “Bucky doesn’t stick around while Cap’s playing...and Cap’s either drawing or off ‘keeping his skills sharp’ when Bucky plays. Maybe they don’t feel comfortable leaving camp without a watch and they just don’t want to ruin our fun by saying so?”

“We don’t play if we aren’t sure the area is secure and we still have our weapons ready.” Morita frowned as he considered the topic. “It isn’t like we’re loud or drunk. There isn’t any reason to think we’re open to an ambush or anything.”

“It doesn’t have to be a practical fear.” Falsworth’s tone was concerned and his voice was low to ensure they weren’t overheard, even though Steve and Bucky had headed further into the woods to scout ahead. “We still don’t know what happened to Bucky after they took him away in Austria. I’ve seen men who were captured by enemies far less deranged then Lohman and Zola who never quite felt safe again. I wouldn’t blame Bucky if he doesn’t feel secure enough to let his guard down while we’re tracking Hydra, and I would wager that the Captain would try to share the load to give him some reprieve.”

“If that were the case, I think Cap would just insist we all continue with our usual watch duties no matter how secure an area is and claim he didn’t want us to let our guards down with Hydra or risk us growing rusty.” Morita shook his head and then pointed at Dugan. “I think Dum-Dum is onto something. I mean, even if one of them always wins, if they both bet and they share everything, then the other’s loss cuts into their winnings and they still risk losing twice as much.”

Jones considered his friend’s point briefly before sighing. “Maybe we should volunteer to keep the usual watch going anyway. If they aren’t worried about it, they’ll probably tell us its ridiculous. If Monty is right, then we owe Bucky that much.”

“ _I agree_.” Dernier spoke in clipped French that Jones translated to the others. “ _If those Hydra bastards have continued to burden Barnes after Austria, then I don’t like the idea of him and the Captain carrying that weight by themselves_.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have a watch out anyway.” Falsworth agreed. “Personally, I’d rather not risk being caught off guard by Hydra again either and if its actively worrying Bucky or the Captain...” He gave an elegant shrug. “I agree with Dernier.”

Dugan nodded. “Me too. Bucky and Cap need to know they aren’t alone any more. We’re watching their backs too, now.”

Jones and Mortia both agreed. They never told Steve or Bucky about the conversation that led to them continuing to take watch shifts even when it likely wasn’t necessary. 

Steve and Bucky never questioned it either. If their unit felt safer with a constant watch, they would have it. Even if they didn’t understand why the others suddenly felt that way. 

~~~

Decades later, the Avengers made a similar discovery. 

Initially, Steve played every time he was around for one of their irregular game nights (with all of their schedules, they were never able to make it a regular game). He continued to play after Bucky joined the group, but the younger super soldier never played. When the others found out that was because Bucky counted cards without even realizing it, they assured the former POW that they didn’t have any problem with that. Tony, Natasha, and Clint even admitted that each of them counted cards as well. Rhodey said he did the same whenever he played with Tony because he was aware of his friend's habit and it kept the playing field even. Sam and Maria commented that they were going to start doing the same, if that was the case. As far as the group was concerned, it added another challenge. 

However, even after Bucky started playing during game nights, they noticed that if the night’s card game included any sort of betting, only Steve or Bucky played, never both together. 

“Its weird, right?” Tony commented about it one day. 

“Not really.” Bruce just shrugged at the look Tony shot him. “Maybe they just don’t feel like playing sometimes? Or maybe they don’t like playing cards against each other?”

Tony arched an eyebrow. “They do _everything else_ together, but they won’t play cards together?” 

“They play cards together.” Bruce corrected lightly. “You got pissed when they kept reversing the game back to the other during Uno the other month, remember?”

“They ended up playing six turns each without anyone else having a turn!” Tony repeated the same complaint he’d made during the game only with a significantly lower level of irritation then he had that night.

Bruce nodded his acknowledgment. “Still, they play cards together. Just not when they have to bet against one another.”

Rhodey sighed. He knew they likely weren’t going to move on from the subject any time soon once Tony got too invested in it. “They probably don’t feel comfortable taking each other’s money. Could just be a habit from the old days when they didn’t have anything.” 

Tony frowned, clearly not accepting the suggested answer. “But they both always win and they still have that ‘what’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine’ mentality. So its not like they’re really taking each other’s money and one loss against a five-plus win doesn’t take away much. They could double their chances at winning.”

“They aren’t that greedy, Tony.” Bruce responded simply.

“Its not about greed, its about _winning_.” Tony pointed at his friends as he poured them drinks. “Whether you guys believe me or not, I know Steve is just as competitive as I am.” 

“Bucky isn’t.” 

Tony paused at Bruce's statement. “That’s true.”

“Why don’t you just ask them, if it bothers you so much?” Bruce suggested. 

“Hell no. We all know how it’ll go down if it turns out to be something sensitive. Bucky’ll go quiet, I’ll try to make a joke to ease the tension, Steve will think I’m being a dick, and the two of us will fight. Bucky will break up the fight, but Steve will hold a grudge for months and that’ll piss me off and we’ll end up fighting again. Probably when we need to be focusing on saving the city or some country or maybe the whole world.”

In all fairness, Tony had a point.

“Maybe they figure doing it this way keeps the game fair?” Rhodey offered another solution, hoping they could end the conversation soon and get back to the movie they were watching when the topic came up. “In one of the Howling Commandos biographies, they mentioned that Steve or Bucky always won their games...of course they were betting candy, paperback novels, or favors. Still, if they noticed that one of them always wins, they might have thought it wasn’t fair to play the same game.”

Tony took a moment to think that one over. “They would do something like that.”

~~~

During the next Avengers game night, Wanda and Bucky played a game of chess while the others played a round of poker. 

Wanda glanced at the others for a moment while Bucky decided on his move. Then she grinned and lowered her voice so only he would hear her. “Does Steve always cheat at cards?”

Bucky frowned at her and dropped his voice as well. “You aren’t supposed to be looking into anyone’s mind without their permission.”

She looked slightly abashed at the mild reprimand. “I know. Sometimes, its hard not to and I didn’t want to slip on yours. I know how it makes you feel. So I directed it at them.”

Bucky nodded slowly, thinking over the explanation. Finally, his face -which had been closed off before- softened. “Thanks.” 

Wanda nodded. “You deserve it.” After the simple comment, she smiled and lowered her voice even further. “So, does he always cheat?”

Bucky offered the smallest of smirks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She stifled a giggle. “No one would ever suspect it of him.”

He scoffed lightly. “Only if they can’t see Steve past _Captain America_.”

Wanda considered that. She looked back at the others for a moment and then turned back to Bucky with a smirk of her own. “I think they deserve it, then.”

Bucky didn’t comment on the subject further. He would never truly out his best friend, even if the man had been cheating for as long as he’d known him. That meant he also knew better than to play against him and that night had been Steve's turn to play. 

His next move put Wanda in check and that brought her mind back onto their game and away from Steve. He trusted the woman not to tell anything she’d learned from looking into one of the others’ minds. She was good about that. He did wonder if the others would ever catch on though. If they did, he’d have Steve’s back as always. Not that he expected them to be _too_ angry about it. He figured they be more surprised and eventually amused that Captain America was a card swindler. 

Of course, the Howling Commandos never figured it out, so the Avengers might not either.


End file.
